The release of a new crypto debit card is an event that deserves attention. On one hand, the launch shows there is a growing demand from cryptocurrency users. On the other, it means businesses see an opportunity to profit from providing this type of product. Bitnovo, a Spain-based fintech company, now offers a Visa prepaid card which can be loaded with bitcoin cash.
Also read: Crypto Debit Cards You Can Use Now Plus a Few to Expect Soon
Bitnovo Introduces Bitsa to Several Markets in Europe
One of the latest offerings in this niche entered the market quite recently. Bitnovo’s prepaid Visa card called Bitsa was launched a couple of months ago in addition to the platform’s Bitcards. It can be topped up with bitcoin cash (BCH), among a total of seven cryptocurrencies, and a number of other payment methods.
Since April, some European users of Bitnovo, which is a platform that trades over 20 digital currencies, can order their new Bitsa card, which can be used to pay anywhere Visa is accepted and withdraw cash from ATMs around the world. It allows holders to make online purchases, pay in brick and mortar stores and online merchants.
With Bitsa you can not only transfer money between different cards but also make payments to any financial institution within SEPA, the single euro payments area. The card employs the Verified by Visa system, so payment security shouldn’t be a problem.
To order a Bitsa card, you don’t even need to have a bank account, although you’ll be able to transfer funds to other cards and accounts. This way Bitsa provides you with easy access to financial services and that’s something the unbanked in Europe should appreciate and take advantage of.
Load Your Card With Cryptocurrencies and Vouchers
The new card offered by Bitnovo can be loaded with bank transfers, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash, vouchers as well as gift cards that are sold online. You’ll be able to request a virtual or a physical contactless Bitsa from your account. To create one, you need to provide your email address, phone number, and choose a password.
The Bitsa account and the virtual card are free, while the plastic will cost you €19.95. There is no maintenance fee and the crypto top-up with cryptocurrencies is free of charge. Purchases outside the Eurozone are charged with a 1.5% fee. The maximum amount that can be withdrawn at ATMs is 1,500 euros daily. Purchases are only limited to the balance on the card.
The Bitsa card is also currently available on Sixthcontinent.com, an Italian profit sharing platform specialized in selling gift cards in various European markets. The prepaid card can be loaded with vouchers bought from the website.
Through Sixthcontinent, the crypto card is now offered in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and it will be released in France and Germany in the near future. Commenting on the launch of the prepaid Bitsa card, Bitnovo’s Chief Marketing Officer Roberta Quintiliano told news.Bitcoin.com:
Given the outcome we are having in Italy and other European countries, and since it is a card that allows free and easy access to financial services for the unbanked, this could be a very exciting news for the crypto community.
How to Top Up Your Bitsa Card With Bitcoin Cash
Loading the Bitsa card with cryptocurrencies – BCH, BTC, LTC, DASH, XLM, XRP, and ZEC – is fast and easy. To top up your card with bitcoin cash (BCH), for example, you need to first download and install the free Bitsa app, which is available in both Google Play and the App Store.
Once you link your virtual or plastic Bitsa is with the application, or associate with your online account, you have to go to the app’s Top Up menu, choose the Cryptocurrency option and select Bitcoin Cash. You can set the amount in either BCH or EUR equivalent and then hit Continue.
The next screen will show you a summary of the transaction and a couple of payment options. You can either pay with the wallet installed on your smartphone or choose to load the card with a wallet on a different device using the generated QR code. Once the BCH amount has been sent, your electronic cash will be converted to euros.
With cryptocurrencies it will be possible to instantly top up the Bitsa prepaid card, “thus guaranteeing quick and easy access to financial services, also to the unbanked public in Italy, Spain and Portugal,” Bitnovo noted in a press release. “We are very pleased with this achievement and we are sure that it is only the first of the many steps we will take to continue to provide everyone with free access to financial services, so they will no longer be an exclusive prerogative of banks,” the Spanish company stated.
Which crypto debit cards have you used? Do you have a favorite? Tell us in the comments section below.
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Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitnovo.
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